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Cassey Ho is the founder of Blogilates, a fitness website. She is also the creator of the POP pilates concept.
Why are we talking about her? Because after getting recurring criticism about her body, she decided to make a video to reply to those critics. In that video, she shows some of the unpleasant comments and messages she received daily. Then she uses Photoshop to get the “perfect body”: she extends the space between her legs, reduces her waist and makes her boobs and butt bigger. She also published a Photoshopped picture of her body in Instagram saying “Finally got my perfect body” as a joke. At the end she looks skinny and with an unhealthy body (in my opinion).
And guess what? A lot of people thought the picture was real and congratulated her. They told her that was an ideal body and that she was an inspiration for them. Others said that she still did not have the “perfect body” and that she should keep working.
These are my reflections on this topic:
Firstly, remember that most of the pictures in magazines, videos, marketing photos on Instagram, etc., are modified on Photoshop to look “better”, or in other words to attract people. These kind of pictures are the ones that implant on us the idea of a “perfect body”; they push people to want such a body. But ask yourself, will you be really happy with this kind of body? Even Cassey Ho said that when she got a perfect body, according to her own criteria, she was not happy because it meant hours and hours of working out and important food restrictions. Ultimately a complete unhealthy lifestyle.
Secondly, there is no standardized “perfect body” for everybody. We are all unique therefore what can be perfect for some is not necessarily perfect for others. When we promote the “perfect body” idea, people will find more difficult to be confident of themselves, to love themselves and to accept themselves as they are. It would only make our lives more stressful as you would end up frequently thinking about what you are eating, why you are eating it or if you should actually eat it or not. It would also make you feel guilty when you don’t workout, etc. This tends to turn into a vicious circle of anxiety or illnesses that could be mortal such as depression, bulimia, etc.
Yes it is important to eat well and exercise, but it does have to become an obsession, source of anxiety and/or stress that at the end will make your efforts counterproductive. The more stressed you are, the more you distance yourself from a healthy life. It does not matter how well you eat and how much you exercise, if you suffer from chronic anxiety you won’t see results and, very likely, you will get sick frequently.
In Sum Mundus, we publish recipes and articles that intend to guide you towards a healthier lifestyle nevertheless those advices are not an universal rule. We are all different and each body needs different things. The goal is to find what benefits you the most and that’s what we are trying to do: help you find that works the best for you, inside and outside. We try to motivate you daily so you can reach your true and best self, so you can live in harmony and totally in love with yourself. That is the key, because when you are in peace with yourself, you realize that you take more care of yourself. You reach a state of being in which adopting a healthy lifestyle is natural, it does not create stress or worries. Living in harmony with yourself implies being at ease with your body as it is, feed it well and exercise it; giving what it needs to feel good, to listen to it and honor its needs.
This is this kind of state that we should be striving to, rather than trying to get the “perfect body” because if you have a “perfect body” but a weak mind, you are not going to be happy but quite the opposite. Remember the saying: “mens sana in corpore sano” (a healthy mind in a healthy body).
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